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35th success at the Tour – Cavendish crowned stage king
Status: 19:35 | Reading time: 3 minutes
The man of records: Mark Cavendish
Source: AFP/MARCO BERTORELLO
On day five of the Tour de France, the sprinters are in demand again. And it will be a special experience: In the French Auvergne, Mark Cavendish celebrates his 35th stage win – and makes history.
Mark Cavendish showed his victory fist and screamed his joy after the royal triumph. He had finally done it: the experienced sprint star achieved his long-awaited sole record for stage victories in the French Auvergne.
At the 111th Tour de France, the Briton crowned himself stage king and finally surpassed the legend Eddy Merckx. On Wednesday, Cavendish stormed to victory on the fifth stage and, at the age of 39, achieved his 35th stage victory. After the 177.4 kilometers between Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and Saint-Vulbas, “King Cav” defeated sprint star Jasper Philipsen and Norwegian Alexander Kristoff in a mass finish.
For Cavendish, a dream came true on the French Atlantic coast with his 165th career victory, which puts him in second place on the all-time list behind Merckx (275). He wanted to do this one job in his 15th and final Tour participation. But he was already in danger of being eliminated on Saturday when he rolled exhausted into the finish line 39 minutes behind in the tough opening stage. Now the big coup came earlier in the race than expected.
Cavendish receives applause and flowers
Source: REUTERS
From a German perspective, it was pleasing: Tour debutant Pascal Ackermann came sixth. As expected, nothing changed at the top of the overall rankings. After his climbing show the day before, Tadej Pogacar, who is wearing the yellow jersey, is still 45 seconds ahead of Belgian Remco Evenepoel and 50 seconds ahead of defending champion Jonas Vingegaard.
Favorites take it easy after Galibier stage
For the Tour favorites, Pogacar and Vingegaard, things were a little calmer one day after the exhausting duel on the Col du Galibier. Pogacar had attacked the Dane at an impressive pace and dropped him just before the summit. The exceptional Slovenian rider then snatched the day’s victory with a lead of 50 seconds over his opponent.
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Vingegaard remains calm despite the heavy blow. “I have to accept it. Before the Tour, we expected to lose time on three of the first four days. Now it’s only 50 seconds. Instead of 0:3, we’re 0:1 behind. That’s good,” said the Dane, referring to his complicated Tour preparation after his heavy fall in April at the Tour of the Basque Country. “My time will come,” added Vingegaard.
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Both top riders have been engaged in a hard-fought duel for several years. Pogacar won the Tour in 2020 and 2021, Vingegaard outwitted his opponent in the past two years. After the demonstration of power on the Galibier, Pogacar is already planning his next attack: “On Friday we’ll have the next rendezvous in the time trial.” Then there could be revenge for Vingegaard’s clear time trial victory last year, when he crossed the finish line in the Alps with a time of 1:38 minutes, well ahead of Pogacar.
Pogacar having fun on sprint stage
The laid-back Pogacar had some fun on Wednesday when he launched a not entirely serious attack in the yellow jersey on the sprint stage. Clément Russo and Mattéo Vercher, on the other hand, were more serious. The Frenchmen distanced themselves from the main field in the first third of the stage and were caught 36 kilometers from the finish.
With 60 kilometers left, Pogacar narrowly avoided a collision with a secured traffic island. The superstar managed to dodge the crash, but six other professionals fell instead – and everyone was able to continue shortly afterwards. Even after that, there were still isolated crashes in the final kilometers.
On Thursday, it’s the sprinters’ turn again. On the sixth stage, the professionals will cover 163.5 kilometers from Macon to Dijon. The easy, flat stage offers few major hurdles. In the end, there will probably be a mass sprint on the final 800 meters before the finish.
